Audience: Teenagers and adults
REVIEWER:
Dr. Tom Snyder
SHATTERED GLASS
tells the true story of a
young reporter working at a
famous liberal political
magazine who is caught
inventing false stories under
the noses of his editors.
The
movie opens with reporter
Stephen Glass regaling the
office at the New Republic,
the leading liberal magazine
in the United States, with
wild funny stories that he’s
uncovered. Both his bosses and
co-workers thoroughly enjoy
the stories and the magazine
dutifully prints them under
his byline.
Stephen’s world
begins to unravel when his
story about computer companies
buying off computer hackers
leads an editor at an Internet
site on computers to ask his
star reporter, Adam Penenberg,
why he didn’t get the story.
Perplexed, Adam starts
checking the alleged facts in
Stephen’s story and begins
to smell a rat. He asks the
New Republic for information
about the people and
organizations mentioned in the
article. When Stephen’s new
editor, Chuck Lane, asks
Stephen to provide the
information, Stephen’s
edifice of lies starts
crumbling.
Hayden Christensen,
who plays the young Darth
Vader in the new STAR WARS
movies, delivers an excellent
performance as the affable,
obsequious, deceitful Mr.
Glass. His portrayal shows
that Glass loved to be the
center of attention, but was
eager to please and became
overly apologetic when even
slightly confronted. Peter
Sarsgaard is wonderful as the
increasingly irate editor,
Chuck Lane.
SHATTERED GLASS
tells a sobering, enlightening
tale of journalistic deceit
and journalistic integrity.
When the staff applauds Mr.
Lane for taking a moral stand
against the popular, slippery
Mr. Glass, it makes viewers
want to stand up and cheer as
well. A major flaw in the
movie, however, is its
inability to connect the
political dots. The movie
fails to consider the fact
that some of the false stories
filed by Mr. Glass seem to be
liberal hit pieces. The
liberals at the New Republic
apparently failed to question
some of Mr. Glass’s more
fanciful lies, because they
fed into liberal prejudices
against conservatives and
capitalists.
Please address
your comments to:
Tom
Ortenberg, President
Lions
Gate FIlms
4553 Glencoe Ave.,
Suite 200
Marina del Rey, CA
90292
Phone: (310)
314-2000
Fax: (310)
396-6041
Website:
www.lionsgatefilms.com

Content:

(BB, PC, Ho, LL, S, AA, DD, M) Moral worldview upholding journalistic ethics, wherein young reporter makes up false, politically correct article about crude, pot-smoking young conservatives, but movie fails to question the liberal mentality that would make up such a story in the first place, and homosexual reference where man says another man kissed him; 15 obscenities including two or three “f” words, six strong profanities, and three light profanities; no violence; sexual references include reporter invents a scene of young conservatives making rude fun chasing a heavyset woman, condom reference, man says another man passionately kissed him, and prostitutes mentioned in passing; no nudity; alcohol use and drunkenness during fictitious wild party; smoking and marijuana use depicted; and, bearing false witness and phony corporation, lying, and inventing stories for magazine.

GENRE: Drama

BB

PC

Ho

LL

S

AA

DD

M

Summary:

SHATTERED GLASS tells the true story of a young reporter working at a famous liberal magazine who is caught inventing false stories. SHATTERED GLASS is a sobering, enlightening, well-acted story of journalistic deceit and journalistic integrity, but it contains some foul language and unresolved political correctness.

Review:

SHATTERED GLASS tells the true story of a young reporter working at a famous liberal political magazine who is caught inventing false stories under the noses of his editors.

The movie opens with reporter Stephen Glass regaling the office at the New Republic, the leading liberal magazine in the United States, with wild funny stories that he’s uncovered. Both his bosses and co-workers thoroughly enjoy the stories and the magazine dutifully prints them under his byline.

Stephen’s world begins to unravel when his story about computer companies buying off computer hackers leads an editor at an Internet site on computers to ask his star reporter, Adam Penenberg, why he didn’t get the story. Perplexed, Adam starts checking the alleged facts in Stephen’s story and begins to smell a rat. He asks the New Republic for information about the people and organizations mentioned in the article. When Stephen’s new editor, Chuck Lane, asks Stephen to provide the information, Stephen’s edifice of lies starts crumbling.

Hayden Christensen, who plays the young Darth Vader in the new STAR WARS movies, delivers an excellent performance as the affable, obsequious, deceitful Mr. Glass. His portrayal shows that Glass loved to be the center of attention, but was eager to please and became overly apologetic when even slightly confronted. Peter Sarsgaard is wonderful as the increasingly irate editor, Chuck Lane.

SHATTERED GLASS tells a sobering, enlightening tale of journalistic deceit and journalistic integrity. When the staff applauds Mr. Lane for taking a moral stand against the popular, slippery Mr. Glass, it makes viewers want to stand up and cheer as well. A major flaw in the movie, however, is its inability to connect the political dots. The movie fails to consider the fact that some of the false stories filed by Mr. Glass seem to be liberal hit pieces. The liberals at the New Republic apparently failed to question some of Mr. Glass’s more fanciful lies, because they fed into liberal prejudices against conservatives and capitalists.

Please address your comments to:

Tom Ortenberg, President

Lions Gate FIlms

4553 Glencoe Ave., Suite 200

Marina del Rey, CA 90292

Phone: (310) 314-2000

Fax: (310) 396-6041

Website: www.lionsgatefilms.com

SUMMARY: SHATTERED GLASS tells the true story of a young reporter working at a famous liberal magazine who is caught inventing false stories. SHATTERED GLASS is a sobering, enlightening, well-acted story of journalistic deceit and journalistic integrity, but it contains some foul language and unresolved political correctness.